Creative Nature Tourism in Lake Toba’s National Super Priority Destination:

Lake Toba is the world's largest caldera lake, located in North Sumatra Province. Lake Toba is the largest lake in Indonesia, designated as one of the National Super Priority Destinations. The beauty of Lake Toba and its abundant natural resources are the main attractions for nature tourism activities. One strategic way to develop it is by offering unique nature tourism with a creative management approach. A creative approach to nature tourism management is essential for preserving culture, natural resources, and the role of local communities. This study aims to identify the distribution and development of creative nature tourism practices, as well as the factors that influence the appeal of creative nature tourism in the outer ring road of Lake Toba, specifically the Aek Nauli-Merek section. This study uses a mixed method by combining a qualitative descriptive analysis model to support quantitative analysis (as the main approach) through multiple linear regression tests to identify factors that influence the appeal of creative nature tourism. This study found that only 11 of the 49 natural tourist attractions along the Aek Nauli–Merek section, Lake Toba, offer creative attractions such as flying fox, tree houses, cargo nets, Burma Bridge, suspension bridges, hanging swings, tree cages, pottery swings, tree homestays, king kong rides, and unique selfie spots. Among the seven predictor factors tested, only the use of technology, pricing, and uniqueness significantly influence the attractiveness of creative natural attractions. These findings suggest that destination managers should prioritize these factors to increase visitor interest, guide marketing strategies, and ensure sustainable tourism development in the Lake Toba region, North Sumatra, Indonesia, and other similar regions.